‘We ask question – what if Awaab was still alive’
Family still feel loss of tragic toddler killed by mould
OVERCOME by unthinkable grief, Awaab Ishak’s parents somehow found the strength to fight.
Steadfast in their resolve to be heard, to ensure no other family suffered in the way they had, Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Amin kept pushing.
Eventually, they were listened to. It’s a year since the scandal of how a young boy lost his life in 21st Century Greater Manchester because of mould in his home unfolded.
On November 15, 2022, the tragedy became the focus of attention and fury across the country.
Thousands rushed to sign the petition calling for Awaab’s Law hours after coroner Joanne Kearsley delivered her damning indictment on the state of social housing the UK.
“How, in the UK in 2020, does a two-year-old child die from exposure to mould in his home?,” she asked.
Awaab died on December 21, 2020. Until that point, his family had pleaded for help them with the mould that was plaguing their home.
So much has happened in Awaab’s name since then - to make sure what happened to him never happens again. The loss of Faisal and Aisha’s firstborn child remains as painful as ever. They relive the tragedy over and over.
They should be a family of five. Awaab’s little sisters Fatima and Baraa will never meet their big brother.
Speaking to the Observer, Awaab’s dad said: “I think as a family, we are aware of what’s happening.
“We see things happening on the news, we see things on the media as to what happened to our son.
“Of course, you know, it is very emotionally distressing for ourselves, but I think we came to terms with the situation and we need to live our life.”
Speaking through an interpreter, Faisal added: “It makes me - well, it makes us as a family - actually think back and ask the question, ‘what if actually Awaab was still alive?.’
“So [we’re] wishing that Awaab would be alive rather than Awaab being dead. That’s the feeling, when we see things on
Facebook and social media, this is the feeling that we have and what we think.”
The couple fled civil war in their native Sudan, moving to Greater Manchester as refugees in search of a better life - only to be let down by a system intended to protect them.
Faisal, now 31, came to the UK from Sudan in 2015. He was joined by Aisha, 30, more than two years later. They had known each other for four years prior to Faisal moving to the UK. He recalls leaving unrest behind - and the difficulties he faced arriving in the UK.
“Life was difficult back in Sudan with the turmoil that was happening with the civil war that was going on,” he said. “I’ve got to admit, actually, that the situation was difficult for me coming to a new country... a new culture, a new language, everything was difficult to start with.
“Nevertheless, I knew about the purpose actually of me being here and I knew what I had to do.” After Aisha joined Faisal in Rochdale, the couple had Awaab in December 2018.
He was born prematurely, but was breathing normally by day three and was soon allowed to go home - healthy and happy to Rochdale’s Freehold estate.
“We were so proud of him actually as a family because it was our first child,” Faisal said.
“We were very happy that he came to this world. We were very happy. We were playing with him, we were doing all sorts with him.”
Awaab’s parents did everything
they could to give him the best start in life.
When he suffered coldlike symptoms in 2020, they took him to their GP to share their concerns. But the problems got worse from there.
At home, the family was surrounded by toxic, black mould. Faisal had never encountered the problem before he moved to the UK, so when a Rochdale Boroughwide Housing worker told him to paint it in October 2017, he took the advice.
“I wasn’t really fully familiar of the mould concept,” Faisal added.
“So yes, I could see things on the wall, it’s black. I was actually going to the to the RBH housing office and letting them know, informing them of what was happening.
“And all they’re telling me actually, they didn’t take me seriously and all they kept saying say was ‘just paint over it and it will go.’
“So no, overall, actually, I didn’t feel that RBH were considerate, were really listening to my concerns. In fact I felt ignored at that moment.”
RBH admitted during the inquest its approach was ‘inappropriate’ and the landlord ‘should have taken responsibility for the mould.’ The advice given to Faisal in 2017 failed to resolve the problem.
Mould covered the kitchen and the bathroom of the family’s one-bedroom flat, in Freehold’s Ilminster block. The couple raised the issue over and over again, even launching legal action in June 2020, but felt constantly ignored.
They grew increasingly concerned for their toddler. “I think it all started when Awaab actually started complaining of chesty cough and difficulty breathing,” Faisal said.
“That’s what really triggered the seriousness of the moment before we started actually feeling that it was something really serious and something needed to be done.”
The family continued to raise concerns about the mould, but it was not resolved.
Awaab’s final days were harrowing. His inquest heard that three days on from his second birthday, Faisal told their GP his son had been dealing with a sore throat for three weeks.
On December 19, 2020, the toddler was taken to Rochdale’s Urgent Cure Centre before being transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital.
While there, Aisha pleaded with the doctor who treated him to help with the mould situation. It was the final desperate bid to be heard before the tragedy. Awaab was discharged on the morning of December 20, but his condition worsened the following day.
Almost three years on, those memories are too painful for Faisal to speak about. Until last August, the family had endured the horror alone.
When the story broke of their suffering and that of other tenants on the estate, the tide then began to turn. Faisal and Aisha began to feel as though they were no longer alone.
Awaab’s inquest concluded on November 15. In a whirlwind few days, the chief executive of RBH was backed by the housing association’s board, then sacked.
Tens of thousands backed the campaign for Awaab’s Law; housing secretary Michael Gove acknowledged the growing calls for change and the family felt Greater Manchester’s support and compassion.
Faisal sat with the Observer in the House of Lords gallery as the legislation embodying Awaab’s Law passed the final hurdle.
It came after 177,822 people signing the petition for change and it meant Awaab’s tragedy will save other lives.
Faisal said: “People were really positive, people were supportive of our family... everybody knew about the situation.”
Since Awaab’s death, the family have moved to Manchester and have had two more children, two-yearold Fatima and five-monthold Baraa.
The family are settled in their new home - safe, as they should always have been. They know Awaab’s death will ultimately save lives following the law change in his name, but the loss of their beautiful, smiling firstborn remains a tragedy they never should have endured.